Female Regional Forester Mentioned For Service’s Top Job

Wed., Dec. 18, 1996

Associated Press

The Forest Service’s only female regional boss has joined the head of the Bureau of Land Management as a potential candidate to be the next Forest Service chief, The Associated Press has learned.

Elizabeth Estill, regional forester in Denver for the Rocky Mountain region, is among a limited number of candidates who have interviewed twice for the job, two government sources familiar with the search told the AP on Tuesday.

The Forest Service never has had a woman as its chief in its 91-year history.

BLM Director Mike Dombeck, a former Forest Service official with a background in fisheries biology, was reported to be the early leading candidate for the job as chief and still is in the running, one administration source said.

“I do know he is one of the top candidates. They have made that clear. They have talked to him about it, but whether he is the frontrunner, I don’t know,” said the administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jack Ward Thomas, who resigned as Forest Service director last month, was the first wildlife biologist to take the job when he was appointed in December 1993.

Traditionally, the chief had been selected from among the agency’s professional trained foresters and administrators. Republican leaders in Congress have urged the Clinton administration to return to that tradition.

Other regional foresters under consideration for the job include Hal Salwasser, regional chief in Missoula, Mont., and Phil Janik, regional chief in Alaska, the sources said.

Agriculture Undersecretary James Lyons, who oversees the Forest Service, refused to discuss any possible candidates for the job.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman earlier said he intended to name a replacement before the end of the year. An administration source said Tuesday an announcement could come before the end of the week.

Dombeck left the Forest Service in Washington, D.C., in 1989 as manager of the national fisheries program. He joined the BLM as a science adviser, working his way to the director’s job in February 1994.

He was not available for comment, a spokesman for his office said Tuesday.

Estill, a former associate deputy Forest Service chief, failed to return repeated telephone messages from the AP left at her Denver office since last Friday.

A Forest Service official in Denver said Tuesday that Estill had been in Washington but it was not clear whether she was interviewing for the job of Forest Service chief or some other job.

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